hadriel | 001 [Text]

[So, it's been about a day. It felt like a lot longer, especially during the night, and by now he's not just scared but incredibly bored. Sleeping isn't really a thing that's an option for lots of reasons, so he's had a lot of time to both think and reread a lot of conversations on the network; there's something that stood out to him in that time, and it lead to this post.]

Okay, so a lot of people are here without any of their friends from home, and this whole thing going on is a pretty bad time to be on your own.

[He can't imagine what it would be like being in this situation while thinking there's no one looking for and caring about you specifically. It isn't just the actual rescue that's the issue, though--especially since who gets found when is pretty unpredictable--it's that there might be people that don't have anyone to reach out to. There might be people who are totally alone in this.

So I was thinking that anyone who doesn't have anyone to talk to can just join in conversation here? People who do already have friends to talk to can too. Meeting new people is at least distracting even if everyone's probably not feeling all that friendly.

I guess just talk about whatever. What's it like back in whatever world you're from, any cool skills (if they involve getting out of being buried that's a plus,) anyone in college before they ended up here? Whatever topic is going to be better than nothing.

I mean I dunno about you guys but I definitely don't have anything better to be doing.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

not yet. she's down there too though, so we'll find her.

You should send her a message bro. The more people she has to talk to the better.

[He's been checking in with her every few hours, but he's pretty sure those of them that are stuck waiting can't have too many people to distract themselves by talking to.]

yeah, I will. kinda don't know who wants to talk to me though. but I guess being stuck underground means you don't have much choice, yeah?

Yeah there's a pretty big range between 'pissed off' and 'so pissed off I don't want to talk to you even while buried alive,' bro.

not always easy to tell where people fall on that range though.

[On one hand, this is so not a conversation he actually feels like having; he doesn't have his usual patience since most of it is devoted to not freaking out. On the other, he also doesn't want to be too harsh because the situation is so complicated and extenuating circumstances and it's still Josh.]

I'm pretty sure if any of us were that mad we wouldn't all live together.

She'll be glad to hear from you.

[With how worried Sam had been about Josh and Ashley when she and Chris last spoke he's pretty confident in saying she'll want to talk to Josh.]

yeah, but then we might have to live with some of the freaks here. better the freak you know, right?

I'll text her. neither of you should be in this alone.

[There are so many things he could say to that, some he wants to say and some he definitely doesn't. But mostly he wishes there was no need to be talking like this at all; that everything was normal, that Josh was still his closest friend and someone he could trust, that none of what happened in the past year ever happened.

But it had, and they're here now, and they just have to deal with it. All of them.

He chooses to ignore the first comments entirely, response delayed for a few minutes and pretty short when it does come in.]

Yeah, good. Thanks.

[He doesn't really know what to take from that - but then, he never does know that sort of thing anymore. And it's hard, sometimes, to remember why.]

cool. see you soon.

[He almost ends the conversation there--this mix of sadness and anger and frustration combined with the general stress of the situation makes punching the coffin lid sound like a great idea instead of a horrible one--but...

I'm holding you to that, bro.

[The last thing he ever said to Josh at home hadn't been good, and he isn't going to take the chance of repeating that mistake here. That's at least something that he can do.]

[He doesn't really know how to respond to that, so he doesn't. He doesn't know how to respond to a lot of things these days, his own frustration and grief and confusion almost too much. But he does know what he needs to do.

Josh slips his phone into his pocket and leaves to find a shovel. He's got work to do.]